Its Under-16 national basketball team won its way into Group A of the European Championships. That meant it could play against Spain, Italy, France and other continental heavyweights, instead of Crete, Andorra and the Pottsylvania Bullwinkles.

In 2013, it happened again. England's Under-18 national team also won its way into elite status, for the first time.

The equivalent?

“It would be like us going to the NCAA Tournament,” said Russell Turner, the UC Irvine coach, speaking of something else that would be unprecedented.

Which is one reason Turner welcomes Luke Nelson, a 6-foot-3 freshman guard from Worthing, England. Both of his hands were all over both promotions.

The Anteaters thought they might be pretty good without Nelson. They have sophomore Alex Young at point guard. Up front they have Will Davis II, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and, this winter, a threat to win the same award without the “Defensive” in it.

They also have enough altitude to require chains during snow season. Five Anteaters stand 6-foot-10 or taller, four of whom seem more or less normal when they stand near freshman Mamadou Ndiaye, who is 7-6.

In a recent video Ndiaye did a chin-up on the rim, then pulled his whole body over the basket and basically used it as a pommel horse. In real life he can catch and pass much better than you might think.

“It makes us very different,” Turner said. “Sometimes we play like a small team, but we're clearly not that. We have to commit to our identity and get better at it. We might not force as many turnovers as we did. But we're going to block more shots. A lot of times that's better than a turnover because it discourages others from coming in there.”

But at Thursday's Anteater vs. Anteater scrimmage at Bren Center, Nelson needed about 30 seconds to show what he'll eventually mean.

He immediately stole two passes and broke for two layups, and he and Young indeed resembled an interchangeable guard combo, the way it used to be before we began talking about “ones” and “twos.”

Nelson was voted England's Player of the Year in his age group for three consecutive years. He also left home to play for the Reading Rockets of the British Basketball League and hit a buzzer-beater to send them into the semifinals of the league championship.

When England upset Spain in the Euro U-18 championships, Nelson produced 29 points, six rebounds and five assists. For the tournament he averaged 19 points, then played well again in the NBA-sponsored Basketball Without Borders All-Star Game in Moscow.

That, Turner says, is where the more televised U.S. college programs learned about him. By then Nelson had already committed to the Anteaters, turning down Elon and Davidson, which is the alma mater of UCI assistant coach Ali Ton.

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